Singapore-based DBS has launched a chat service that lets its wealth clients interact and transact with their relationship managers via WhatsApp and WeChat.
Developed with regtech startup FinChat, the DBS Wealth Chat service is designed to bring clients the convenience of instant messaging platforms while ensuring regulatory compliance.
Relationship managers can register interested clients in a private chat group with the bank. Then a unique chat group is set up and any conversations and file exchanges that occur within it are archived by the bank without any intervention required from the relationship manager.
Initially, the service will be used to share content such as DBS chief investment office reports, research insights and ideas, and exclusive invitations with Singapore clients. Additional investment-related transactions, such as trade placement, will be introduced next year.
DBS says that the IM service offers an alternative to recorded phone conversations, allowing its relationship managers to communicate with clients on the go, resulting in a more convenient and speedier service.
In fact, the bank estimates that DBS Wealth Chat will save some 10,000 man-hours a year, while also making communication simpler and better for clients.
Tan Su Shan, group head, consumer banking and wealth management, DBS, says: "Our aim is to provide banking services that are embedded in our customers’ everyday lives, while maintaining client privacy and keeping to our rigorous security requirements."